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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · mark · degree · clip · mouse · deal · arm · mine

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mark — a trace
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. degree — temperature
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mark — a grade

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com